Friday's NBA schedule features five games. Here are some of the top storylines to follow:
- Can James Harden stay hot? He's averaging 39.9 and 9.1 APG over his last seven games.
- Will Giannis own the Knicks again? The Greek Freak dropped 30 points and 14 rebounds on the Knicks on Christmas and is averaging 31.3 PPG and 16.0 RPG in three games vs New York this season.
- How will the Lakers manage without LeBron James? The 4-time MVP could miss several games with a groin strain suffered on Christmas. The game in Sacramento will be his first missed game this season.
- The second meeting this season between Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell, last year's top two finishers in Rookie of the Year voting. In the first matchup back in November, Mitchell had a bizarre game in which he finished with 0 assists while shooting 35 times.
- Golden State is back in action at home, two days after losing by 26 on Christmas to the Lakers. This is the first of two meetings in three days between the Warriors and Blazers who play again in Portland on Sunday.
Results:
Boston Celtics 113-127 Houston Rockets
Reigning MVP has been in some sensational form off late and he went off once again against the visiting Boston Celtics, giving the Rockets their seventh win in their last eight games.
New York Knicks 96-112 Milwaukee Bucks
MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo put up stellar all-round numbers to leads the Bucks to a huge win over the Knicks for the second time in three days. Milwaukee is now just one game behind the Toronto Raptors for the league's best record.
Los Angeles Lakers 116-117 Sacramento Kings
With no LeBron James and no Rajon Rondo, the young Lakers squander a late lead and eventually fell to Bogdan Bogdanovic's game-winner.
Philadelphia 76ers 114-97 Utah Jazz
Behind a Ben Simmons' triple-double and a great all-round game from Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers register a convincing win in Utah.
.@JoelEmbiid posts 23 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists in the win vs Utah! #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/xRRshNIQ8l
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 28, 2018
Trail Blazers at Warriors - 9:00 a.m. IST
A dagger three by Damian Lillard in an overtime thriller meant the Blazers handed the Warriors their second straight loss.
The kid from Oakland hits the game winner at our last game in Oakland. pic.twitter.com/oWXoGC019M
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 28, 2018